Tag: Christmas

To everyone out there, but particularly to all the many magic people I’ve had the blessings to meet virtually – and this year also finally face-to-face – during my three years blogging on the “Streets of Nuremberg”, I wish a peaceful and merry Christmas and much love and laughters together with your family and friends.

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While in the city the other night I also did a quick walk through the historic center to capture some of the Christmas vibes of my hometown. All photos taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the mZuiko 12-100mm F/4. To see some more photographs continue after the jump… Continue reading “Nuremberg Christmas Vibes”→

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We all know Christmas is not the most relaxing of holidays. Shopping frenzy, decorating competitions, preparing festive meals, Christmas parties everywhere, last minute travels. And all of this with a looming deadline…well, sort of. But you get my point.

Let us all remember that this is not about who gives the biggest gift, has the fanciest decoration or cooks a 5 course dinner.

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The Significant Other and I went for an afterwork drink to the Christmas Market in the Old Town. While enjoying a Glühwein (Mulled Wine) I happily snapped away at our bystanders with my EM-1 and the 12-100mm F/4.

Once more I was amazed at the image stabilization capabilities of the Oly cam. This photo I shot hand-held at 1/6 sec. The very slow shutter speed had the advantage that I captured the motion of the guy raising the Glühwein cup to his mouth.

Capturing gesture always adds interest to Street Photographs. In this case I was waiting for him to start drinking with the intention to capture the motion of the moving cup. And as people typically keep their head still when drinking, I was able to capture the face of the subject sharp, despite the slow shutter speed. Obviously, when shooting at 1/6 sec, it is always a bit hit or miss when going after these kind of images.

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Finally we got away, at least for an evening. The Significant Other and I headed to nearby historic town of Schwäbisch Hall to spend the Friday evening under the stars. It was a cold but clear night, and everybody had a good time. And yes, I finally got the Bratwurst that I was longing for all week.

I brought the OM-D E-M1 with the 12-100 F/4. Somehow, this festive season, I’m very much into black and white (not that I’m in a dark mood). And the nightly cities with their bright festive illuminations provide a good background for some high contrast monochrome shooting. Obviously, you need to work with high ISO and slower shutter speeds. But a bit of grain and slightly blurred (as moving) people doesn’t hurt in these kind of photography, sometimes even add to the atmosphere.

Christmas Spirit | Schwäbisch Hall | 1/13 sec – f/4 – ISO 1600 – 34mm

But don’t worry, colorful Christmas photos are on the way, these are just a few quick results from last night. Don’t really have time to work on the images, as we have a totally busy weekend ahead with shopping, meeting friends, birthdays, concerts and a Christmas party. And maybe the one or other snapshot 😉

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The job that pays the bills has been properly roasting me in the past days, like one of those Nuremberg Bratwurst grilled sausages. But after 32 years in the company there is not much I couldn’t handle, although times have rarely been this crazy.

I would love to grab the camera and shoot in the streets more often, but I just don’t get to it. Which is a pity, because the Nuremberg Christmas season is in full swing, and the Christkindlesmarkt, our famous historic Christmas market, with plenty of tourists and locals roaming the small alleys between the wooden stalls, is a perfect place for street photography. But the weekend is coming up and there is light at the end of the tunnel, and maybe a Bratwurst waiting for me….

Photo taken with the Olympus PEN-F with the 12mm F/2, image specs 1/100 sec @ f/2.5 and ISO 200.

If you want to pick up your camera and are looking for tips and inspirations around photography, visit my free Learning Center .

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Sitting in my office in far away Oregon, I swiped though my Instagram feed during lunch break. Somehow I was surprised to see all those images from the grand opening of the historic Nuremberg Christmas market. Being fully engulfed in my work on the other side of the world, it completely dropped off my radar that this weekend is the start of Advent season, the four weekends prior to Christmas. And traditionally, on Friday night before the First Advent, is the festive opening of Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt, as it is called locally. And with that, the historic old town below the Imperial Castle turns on the lights of all the festive street decorations. Seeing the Instagram photos I’m feeling a bit homesick, but that comes with the job that pays the bills. At least I get to spend two days at the coast of the great Pacific Ocean, albeit with plenty of Oregon liquid sunshine forecasted, but I will make the best of it.

The photograph was taken with my Olympus PEN-F and the 12mm F/2 prime lens, image specs 1/60 sec @ f/2 and ISO 1600.

If you want to pick up your camera on the weekend and are looking for tips and inspirations around photography, visit my free Learning Center .

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They grow to serve us for just two weeks. We select them with a lot of attention. We decorate them with a lot of love. They brighten up our lives for two weeks. Families gather around them on Christmas. And then we throw them away. Isn’t it a bit crazy?

While walking to a doctors appointment I saw a bunch of disposed Christmas trees laying at the side of the road, waiting for the city to collect them. I had the PEN-F with the Lensbaby with me, and took this shot with 1/100 sec, f/3.5 and ISO 320, focal length of the lens is 28mm.

The photo is out of camera, no postprocessing. Sure, you can create this effects artificially with Photoshop, but isn’t it more fun to get it right when pressing the shutter? Walking around with a Lensbaby forces you to see differently.

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To everyone out there, but particularly to all the many wonderful people I’ve had the blessings to meet (at least virtually) during my first two years of blogging on the “Streets of Nuremberg”, I wish a peaceful Christmas and much love and laughters together with your family and friends.